


A Soft Spot

by Merlocked18



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Art, Christmas, Friends to Lovers, M/M, WinterKnights2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-06
Updated: 2017-12-06
Packaged: 2019-02-05 05:10:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12787686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merlocked18/pseuds/Merlocked18
Summary: Arthur tells Merlin.





	A Soft Spot

**Author's Note:**

> Written and drawn for the WinterKnights fest - a superb celebration of wintertime Merlin. I love this fest so much. Thank you mod gods for arranging it again. It is a favourite. <3
> 
> This thing is a very silly little thing, written around a piece I drew of Merlin in a jumper. I love the friends to lovers trope with a burning passion and bamf!Merlin always gets to me (Merlin is a hot head, no-nonsense action man) Pining!Arthur is a must as well. So, this is all very self-serving. And, yes, sprinkled it with angst, too, because, I just love the stuff. And banter.
> 
> Merry Christmas to everyone.

 

                                

 

 

"Your face speaks volumes," Arthur said, taking a step back. 

He shouldn't have told Merlin, not now. First Christmas Merlin really needed a friend. First Christmas without his mum. And Arthur had gone and ruined it by being needy. His heart had caved. He just couldn't hold it in any longer. He just wanted to hold his best friend, if nothing else, but he had asked for so much more than that. Of course Merlin was appalled.

 

"You..." Merlin began but his voice trailed off.

 

Telling your best friend of twenty years that you needed him for more than movie nights, game sessions and jovial drinks down at the pub was goddamned hard to do, but Arthur suspected it was equally hard on the receiving end - judging by the way Merlin was reacting - staring at Arthur in disbelief and, what seemed obvious, growing disdain.

 

"All this time...?" 

 

Honesty was brutal, but Arthur was laying all his cards on the table. The charade had gone on long enough. All their friends had told him that much, they had been wrong, hadn't they? How could they have read everything so wrong? Everyone had encouraged him to do this, to be the brave one. They had all believed it, believed that he and Merlin were meant to be a couple. What a farce!

"Your straight best friend wasn't as straight as you thought he was," Arthur whispered," And maybe you aren't as gay as I thought you were..."

 

"Jesus, Arthur..."

 

Arthur couldn't believe he was saying these things out loud. Yet, here we was confessing, wanting, wondering, blurting out truths he had worked so long to hide.

 

"I'm sorry. I've ruined it haven't I? Can't be friends anymore now either, right?" 

 

"Arthur..."

 

The thought of losing Merlin as a friend made it hard for Arthur to breathe, let alone think straight.

 

"I'll be going then," he managed, his eyes flitting over Merlin's familiar flat, Merlin's book cases, ornaments and furniture - their life together spinning faster and faster away from him. He managed to focus on the things most adjacent. Arthur's Christmas gifts for Merlin sat in a neat row on Merlin's couch. Silly presents that only he and Merlin would understand the significance of. They knew each other through and through, yet Merlin had never cottoned on about what was going through Arthur's heart and mind every bloody time they hung out.

 

"Happy Christmas, Merlin," Arthur murmured wanting very much to crawl under a huge rock somewhere never to emerge again. He didn't even look at Merlin, desiring a quick exit more than anything. He strode resolutely towards the front door, determined that he wouldn't cry in front of Merlin, determined that he would survive this, as he had survived all these years, half-living.

His beautiful Merlin was a vivid day dream that he was supposed to banish from his mind. For all eternity he would be without his mate...he put his hand on the door.

 

"Don't think you are going anywhere after that."

 

Arthur turned at Merlin's angry snarl. Merlin looked as furious as he sounded. Arms akimbo, his eyes on fire, he was ready to pounce, muttering something that sounded like a curse under his breath. Arthur didn't think he deserved anger. He couldn't help the way he felt. Merlin was everything to him. Without him he might as well cease to exist. There was no point really.

 

"Get back here, Mister!"

 _Mister?_ Merlin had never called him that. Ever. Sounded very domestic, didn't it? Like they were married or something. His heart gave a weak cry of hope.

 

"Merlin?"

 

"Don't Merlin me, you utter PRAT! Get back here! This minute! Before I blow a fuse, you utter ...cabbage head!"

 

Arthur chuckled in something akin to fright. Merlin looked and sounded like an angry housewife, but if he was hurling familiar insults now, things couldn't be that bad, right? It felt oddly normal.

 

"Come here and shift all this gear from my couch, NOW!"

 

"You don't like my presents?"

 

Arthur tottered nonplussed towards the couch, towards Merlin, who was pointing at the offending items.

 

"I am going to have my way with you on this bloody couch, Arthur, by god!"

 

"You are going to....?" 

 

Arthur stumbled on his own two feet, landing on Merlin's soft shaggy rug.

 

"Arthur. Jesus fuck."

 

"Merlin, it's Christmas, you can't be saying things like that..."

 

"Oh, for the love of god!!" 

 

Merlin tackled Arthur prostrate. Arthur let him, of course, because a tussle was always fun, and it being Merlin, doubly so. 

"I love your Christmas jumper, Merlin. It's so soft," Arthur giggled as Merlin's roaming fingers pinched him in the sides.

 

"I might have s soft spot for you, too, you ARSE!" Merlin cried and claimed Arthur's lips with an almighty groan, grabbing at Arthur's backside as if his life depended on it.

 

Coming up for air in between frantic kisses, they stared at each other accusingly.

 

"Why the HELL didn't we do this sooner?!" 

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?!"

"Idiot, YOU could have told ME you felt the same way!"

"Jesus. Fuck, Arthur!"

"Language, Merlin!"

"Fuck!"

 

 

 

And so it came to pass that Arthur finally got to hold his beautiful Merlin, and they lived happily ever after, bickering and bantering, having mostly angry sex, and, it was always good.

 

The End

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
